Today's "60 Second" basketball tip will help give coaches a better insight on how officials work together to correctly award the ball to the rightful team when the calling referee is screened on an out of bounds play.

Now some coaches may feel the mental coin that officials toss in their head to make their rulings is permanently weighted in favor of the other team, but if you watch closely you will observe the 2 or 3-person crew work quickly and confidently to get the play right. 

After the official who is responsible for the ruling blows his/her whistle and stops the clock with a raised open hand, immediately they will attempt to make eye contact with their partner, if they did not see who caused the ball to carom out of bounds....

The responsible official should not signal a direction...They will keep their arm up and may even verbally ask for help.

If the partner knows , he/she will verbalize the answer (team jersey color) while at the same time pointing in the proper direction.

It's important to understand, if the responsible official is pretty sure Team B touched the ball last; they will award the ball to Team A... If they are wrong, his/her partner will come to the official and they will have the opportunity to change the call, if they believe they missed the call...

Good officials know for this to be effective tool, they need to slow down and be more methodical and deliberate in stopping the clock....This patient approach will also be a great help during a mad scramble for the ball that is tipped several times before going over the boundary line.

The official will blow the whistle and stop the clock....Verbally announce who is to receive the ball, and then pause to remember team direction, and then signal confidently. 

You didn't ask for help, but I hope this "60 Second" issue on how officials work together on shielded out of bounds plays to give the official with the best look the opportunity to get the play ruled correctly.